In any case, most of the machines in question are single needle, needle feed, lockstitch machines. These are intended for garment work, not auto upholstery. For auto upholstery, you need a compound feed walking foot machine.

__________________
__________________________________

No one lives forever, the trick is creating something that will.
__________________________________

That must have been a old ad or a misprint, it is a current listing on Craigs list,, I called just prior to making my post, this is a current sale,, besides like Dan mentioned,, they wont work for upholstery,,

This is all new to me and always wanted to give upholstery a try. I decided I wanted to do the upholstery on a pair of Recaro seats for a project I am working on.
This way I can do the seats the way I want. I have had upholstery done before locally and wasn't pleased with they way they turned out.
I didn't do enough research and bought a Reliable 2000U-33.http://www.reliablecorporation.com/P...G-ZAG/2000U-33
I thought the machine would do the job I wanted. It works fine on vinyl and material. I was getting familiar and comfortable with the sections I was making.
I was pleased with the way they were turning out. So I decided that if I can do the seats and be pleased with the way they turn out. I would do them with leather,
this is were the problems starts. It can sew the 2 layers of leather no problem, but topstitching is nearly impossible. So much so that I am scared to keep trying
as I don't want to keep wasting the leather. I took the machine in and had it adjusted, changed needle to something more suitable for leather. When I get back home
and try it, it still can't handle it. I am thinking on trading it in and going for the consew 226R, would this be a wise move?
a few pics of some practice pieces.

I'm surprised you have gotten as far as you have. The machine you bought will never do what you want it to do. In order to sew heavier fabric like leather, or anything sewed to sew foam, you need an industrial sewing machine with a compound walking foot. The Consew 226 will do everything you are trying to do easily. That's what I do the majority of my sewing with.

__________________
__________________________________

No one lives forever, the trick is creating something that will.
__________________________________

That is where I went wrong, the Reliable is a portable industrial with a walking foot, but not compound feed. When working with heavier material, the stitch length becomes erratic, along with other problems.
Thanks for your input Dan
much appreciated.

Have been trying to figure out what a good machine would be, I think the dealer I bought my machine from has a used Consew 226R but haven't talked to him yet, I have been looking at other
machines checking out alternatives, he also has a Singer 111W but it has no reverse.
Looks like Seiko makes some nice machines but are expensive, Reliable lists a number of compound feed machines also. From reading the posts I should be looking for a compound feed machine, the height of the pressure foot is also important, is there other important details that have to be considered also ?
Looking at the Consew 226R there is a number of different models of the same machine? Are they all basically the same just with different options?

Seiko has been building Consew machines for years. The 226 is the same head with different options and improvements added over the years. It is basically a copy of the Singer 111W, which is also a good machine. Pfaff makes a good machine, as does Juki. Pfaff would be a Cadillac, Juki is a Buick, and Singer, Seiko, and Consew are Chevies.

__________________
__________________________________

No one lives forever, the trick is creating something that will.
__________________________________

Now that is a smart businessman. Both machines will work fine for you. The Juki LU 563 is another clone of the Singer 111W, just like the Consew 226. I would pick the Juki if it was me buying it. It's just a little better made, and it uses the same feet as the Consew 226. That would be a big deal for me. I have a lot of money tied up in feet, so I wouldn't buy a machine that didn't use the same feet as what I have now.

__________________
__________________________________

No one lives forever, the trick is creating something that will.
__________________________________

Consew would be even trade for the Reliable I purchased, the Juki would be 500 more and he will put a sewquiet 4000 on either one for 150.
I am wondering if the Juki is worth the extra money? Juki is probably 20 years old and Consew is closer to 30 years old. Which doesn't really matter both are fully reconditioned and have a full years warranty.
Consew has the smaller bobbin, is there any disadvantage besides the obvious?

If you can get the Consew even up for the one you had, jump on it. The Juki isn't worth $500 more. Get the SewQuiet 4000, it will be the smartest thing you ever did. My Consew has a small "G" bobbin, and it is not a problem.

__________________
__________________________________

No one lives forever, the trick is creating something that will.
__________________________________

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.